By Sophie Vorrath on 14 August 2014
Australia’s PV industry can now add solar carports to its list of non-residential solar sectors that are yet to take off in this country, as analysts in the US herald another record year in the burgeoning market – the fourth consecutive year, in fact, that over 100MW of solar carports would be installed in the US.
According to a new report from Greentech Media Research, US Solar Carport Market 2014-2018: Landscape, Outlook and Leading Companies, America is forecast to add more than 180MW of solar carports in 2014, up from 157MW in 2013, and could be worth nearly $850 million in the space of just two years.
Historically seen as a niche market, GTM attributes recent growth in the US carport solar market to falling system prices as well as a shift in the value proposition of these types of installations, as educational, government, and non-profit customers target savings on electricity bills.
“With the average system price of solar carports continuing to fall, commercial solar developers can offer increased value to customers in the form of larger project sizes and greater electricity savings,” said Scott Moskowitz, author of the report.
Developers have used this tactic, Moskowitz notes, exploiting state-level incentives to grow the market at a CAGR of 45 per cent from 2010 to 2014.
While the report noted that California has historically represented more than half of the national market for solar carports, it also stated that new east coast destinations are cropping up. GTM expects that continued growth in California, New Jersey and Arizona will help boost the total value of the market to $843 million in 2016.
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